 Wiccans do not generally have churches. The Earth is our church; where we learn, worship and commune with the Divine. However, when we perform ritiual or do spellwork or whenever else we may feel the need to, we cast a Sacred Circle. The sacred circle is like our church, our sacred space. There are literally endless ways to cast a circle. Each person eventually develops his or her own special way after practicing and giving a go to many different ways. I encourage you to read quite a few circle castings before trying it. Find one you are comfortable with, maybe even rewrite the ones you read, taking parts you like from each one to create a new way. Circle casting is a very important part of Wicca because as said before, it is within the sacred Circle that we do much of our work and worship. It can be far from easy, however. As difficult as it may be at times, and as much as you may feel you are getting no where, do not give up. Learning to cast an effective circle takes much time and believe me, much practice. No one wakes up one day and suddenly has the ability to cast a circle. It takes patience, a lot of mental power, a LOT of concentration, and most important of all, you have to believe in yourself. It is your personal energy you are projecting to create the circle. You must believe you can do it for it to be possible, and you can do it. Before attempting to cast a circle, you should first learn some other basics though. Here is a list of some things you should practice and have down well before attempting to cast a circle. It will make things a little easier and may help you succeed quicker. ~ Meditate. Meditation helps develop concentration. You need to have good concentration. ~ Energy work. Do some exercises on feeling and controling your personal energy. Learning to work with your energy is not only important in circle casting, but also the biggest part of magic. ~ Visualization. Visualization can be worked into both meditation and energy work, more often energy work. It is the practice of seeing, or "visualizing" things in what is called your "mind's eye." Sometimes, when you day dream, you may actually "see" what you are day dreaming about in your mind and become unaware of your surroundings. In a way, this is the very thing you are doing during visualization and circle casting, minus the becoming unaware of your surroundings part. Okay, well that's a short list. But those two things are very important. Meditate often, as well as do energy work. I would even suggest you set a date on when you will attempt to cast your first circle, maybe two weeks in advance or on the next full moon. Then, set a daily regimen of meditation and energy work up to that set date. Maybe every day, after waking up or before going to bed or something, decide that you will have meditation time, then after meditation, do some energy exercises. Alright, so what exactly does casting a circle involve and why are these things so important to do it? When you cast a circle, you drawing energy from yourself, often from the Earth and the Sky as well, and realeasing it out through yourself, into a protective circle of energy around you. Actually, the sacred circle isn't a circle at all. It's a sphere. It is a large sphere of energy extending above your head, below the ground, and all around you, meant for protection during ritual as well as to maintain your energy during spellwork. It keeps positive energy in and negative energy out. It also helps during spellcasting to control your energy and keep it until you are ready to realease it, as well as keeping the energy you produce from becoming conflicted with other energy. In order to be able to project your energy into a sphere around you, and to cast it to work effectively (for protection), you must know how to control your own energy and instil it with certain vibrations (here, we want positive vibration (like the Bob Marley song)). One of the first lessons most Wiccans learn is this very thing. First, to feel your energy. Then, to control it. After that, to project certain thoughts and feelings. The first is pretty easy, but the other two are what can take some practice. You need to be able to concentrate because there is a lot going on during a circle casting. You need to be able to feel the energy, feel the protection of it, project it out into a sphere, see (visualize) the energy and not let your mind wonder during all of this. If your mind wonders off to what you're going to eat after the ritual, or that you still have two more loads of laundry to do, you're probably not doing any of the things you need to be in the moment, or at least not in an effective way. How do you know when you've casted an effective circle? Well, only you can tell. Everyone experiences energy different. You may hear a soft "buzz" (as I do) or something else. You may like to walk to the edge of the circle and put your hand up and feel the energy. You may feel it as a tingly sensation, a prickly sensation, heat, or anything else. Many people explain that they feel a significant rise in temperature inside a circle. This may even be to the extent that you even feel a soft rush of cool air when the circle is taken down. Usually, you should know when you are beginning to cast an effective circle from your energy exercises. From working with and getting to know your personal energy from the exercises, when you have done it right, you will just know. There are also different ways to see a circle. Once you get more advanced in circle casting, you can have fun with colors and patterns. In the beginning, keep it simple though. There are a few "rules" (for lack of a better word) for when a circle is cast, however. You must have respect for the circle, as it is sacred, a temple. 1. A circle should not be walked through. When casting a circle for a group, it is customary to first caste the circle with you in it and the others outside. When you are done, let them in. Letting people into a circle, and out, is done by the simple task of "cutting a door." That is #2. 2. Cut a door when leaving and entering the circle. This is not hard. All you do is using your wand, athame, or finger (whatever you used to cast the circle), point down at the ground or floor and draw the energy into the tool (or your finger) in an arch tall and wide enough for someone to walk through. Store the energy there until it is time to close the circle again, at which point you draw the arch again opposite the way you drew it the first time, releasing the stored energy to close it. 3. ALWAYS REMEMBER TO CLOSE THE CIRCLE WHEN FINISHED. This can be easy to forget when it's late, you're tired, and wiped of your energy. But it is extremely important that if you cast a circle, you close it afterward. This is not hard at all. Simply do whatever you did to cast it - in reverse. Or, the simplest way (and my way of choice) is to wave your athame, wand, finger (whatever was used to cast it) above your head, in the air in a widdershins (witch speak for "counter-clockwise") direction, drawing the energy back to you. After this, it is equally as important to ground and center yourself (as you should after any ritual or spell work.) Don't leave a circle up, no matter how tired you are. It's too simple a task to pay the price of having stale energy linger afterwards for who knows how long. 4. Many Wiccans will only move in a deosil (clockwise) direction when within a circle. Some follow this more strictly than others, but there are those who will tremble with fear and become filled with anxiety at suggestion they walk widdershins when in a circle. Do what you like. 5. This last one isn't a rule as much as a general suggestion. It is generally a good idea to "mark" the circle in some way, so you know the boundaries of the circle. You see the woman doing this with a stick in the dirt in the picture at the top of this page. Use anything you like. Often, preferably when outside, salt is used for this. But you can use anything from cord, to chalk, to rose petals or candles. Be creative. Okay! So, now I will share with you my own circle casting from my own Book of Shadows. This is the first circle casting I ever wrote, in the beginning of my studies. I wrote this after experimenting with many techniques and picking parts I liked from each, and even adding my own in many places. It is short and simple. Try this one if you like, or adapt it in a way that suits you. Like I said, I encourage you to broaden your horizons and try as many as you can, adapting what you are uncomfortable with or simply do not like. Remember though, before trying this, or any other circle casting, I also encourage you to do the meditation, and if not that, at least some energy exercises. Happy casting! |
 |
 |
| Back |